Rebecca

I had such high hopes for this, anticipation was high, especially as new material has been somewhat thin on the ground this year, for obvious reasons.

I did raise an eyebrow when I heard that Armie Hammer had been cast as Maxim, but I felt he did a decent job, it gives me hope for his upcoming part in Death on the Nile.

The standout for me was Kristin Scott Thomas, she was a fearsome Mrs Danvers, very impressive.

The film itself, very stylish, and had some good moments. If I'm totally honest, I was a tad disappointed, I think the pacing was a bit off, it perhaps felt a bit rushed at the ending.

A few reviewers calling for no remakes, and yes the 1940 adaptation is the ultimate, but come on, many of us love seeing a retelling. However, if you haven't seen the adaptation with Olivier and Fontaine, I urge you to, it captures the atmosphere beautifully.

Overall, it's a good watch, maybe it's the sinister atmosphere that's perhaps lacking. 6/10.

I don't understand why you would attempt to remake a film who's shoes are just too big to fill.

First off the film looks great especially the scenes in France and the story is good but that is the source materials fault not anyone involved with this film.

I thought it was pretty bland apart from the points above. The characters were just so blah. I literally cared more about Clarice the maid than the lead characters. She seemed nice which is at least an adjective, I can't really think of any adjectives to describe Mr and Mrs de Winters. So that tells you something.

I was really looking forward to the costumes too but for the most part I was let down. They stuck Mrs de Winter in like dumpy hats and cardigans that you could go and pick up from H & M. I don't understand this choice. In the Hitchcock film they give her interesting dresses and stylish tops. I was so confused.

I also don't believe the reviews that say this captures old Hollywood. I didn't feel it, it 100% felt like a 2020 film. If you want a old Hollywood movie just go and watch one.

I would honestly skip it, it was pretty confused. The first chunk of the movie felt like full romance but then it shifts into like a boring drama then it's all like Frankensteined together with horror tropes like "jump scares". It had no point of view.

There should be a rule, don't remake a great classic movie if you have nothing new or interesting to add to it. This looked like the Hallmark version of Hitchcock's classic film noir. Lilly James is overacting the shy, inexperienced character, she walks like Forrest Gump in some scenes, for example where she's following Rebecca's ghost at the party. She also pouts all the time. Armie Hammer has the intensity of a carrot, he's too vanilla for the role. His suits are horrible, badly tailored, the mustard suit in the beginning is an eye sore. Kristin Scott Thomas as Mrs Danvers is the only saving grace of this movie. And finally, the cinematography is bad. It's like somebody wanted to make a rom com and changed their mind in the last minute. Those happy, ultra saturated colors don't fit the mood of a dark gothic romance novel in the least.

With such a great cast, I expected this to be a better movie. I don't know if it was a poor screenplay or muddy direction but the film felt hectic, choppy and melodramatic. I'm sorry to say I haven't read the novel by Daphne du Maurier, which has been such a perennial favourite that it has never been out of print, and, the Hitchcock version of the book won an Oscar in 1940. So, I'm going to hazard a guess it is not the source matter. It's too bad to have wasted the talents of Lily James, Armie Hammer and Kristin Scott Thomas (and a small role for Keeley Hawes). I give this film a 5 (off) out of 10. {Mystery}

How can something, so beautiful, so twisted and so disturbing, be so boring?